Calvin

34 inches tall x 35 inches wide x 11 inches deep

flameworked glass marble machine

Bandhu Scott Dunham was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1959. Dunham began to teach himself lamp work technique in 1975 while still in high school. As an undergraduate at Princeton, he received informal training from the University's glassblower before completing his apprenticeship under American and European masters at Urban Glass, the Pilchuck Glass School, and the Penland School of Crafts. Dunham is currently an independent glass artist and glassblowing instructor. He is the author of several books, including Contemporary Lampworking: A Practical Guide to Shaping Glass in the Flame.

Artist's Statement: Innocence, vulnerability, and analysis are recurring themes in my work. I like to bend reality to incorporate odd juxtapositions, to bend forms to follow my own quirky sensibility. Many of my goblets express a childlike delight with simple things, or novel combinations of forms. Some are funky and some are elegant. They can be considered a "toast" to various manifestations of Innocence.

Some of the works carry scars, like an ancient artifact or a primordial carnivorous plant, full of warts and tentacles. They imply growth over time or an unspoken history. Like "old souls," they come into this world already wounded by exposure.

I find glass the perfect medium for this kind of work: its fluidity, malleability, and paradoxical nature bring out the mysterious parts of myself that I seek to explore and express through art. I enjoy and have pursued lampworking since 1975 because of its immediacy and practicality. The beauty, transparency, and fragility of glass are especially well suited for exploring the themes that interest me.